Apple is unlikely to release any iPhone models with under-screen Touch ID within the next two years, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said in a tweet today.
In a September 2021 research note, Kuo had predicted that Apple would launch at least one new iPhone model with an under-screen fingerprint scanner in the second half of 2023, but his latest tweet suggests this is unlikely to happen anymore.
"I previously predicted iPhones would support under-display fingerprint sensing/Touch ID in 2023 at the earliest," tweeted Kuo, an analyst at TF International Securities. "But the latest survey indicates new iPhones in 2023 & 2024 may not adopt under-display Touch ID. Face ID with a mask on iPhone is already a great biometrics solution."
Apple did test an under-screen fingerprint scanner for at least some iPhone 13 models, according to reports from The Wall Street Journal's Joanna Stern and Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, but Apple apparently decided not to move forward with the idea.
Under-screen Touch ID would have been most useful when Face ID did not work with masks, but iOS 15.4 introduced a new "Face ID with a Mask" feature on iPhone 12 models and newer. An argument could still be made that having both Face ID and under-screen Touch ID on an iPhone would provide customers with the best of both worlds, but Kuo's tweet suggests that will not happen for several years, if ever.
I previously predicted iPhones would support under-display fingerprint sensing/Touch ID in 2023 at the earliest. But the latest survey indicates new iPhones in 2023 & 2024 may not adopt under-display Touch ID. Face ID with a mask on iPhone is already a great biometrics solution. — 郭明錤 (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) March 30, 2022
There remains a possibility that Apple introduces an iPhone with Touch ID built into the power button, in line with the latest iPad Air and iPad mini models, but there haven't been any rumors to suggest that Apple plans to go down that avenue.
